Sportspersons Need More Foreign Camps To Perform Better: Sakshi

It’s been four months since Sakshi Malik won the Olympic medal. Yet she feels India lacks foreign exposure in a big term.

"Before Olympics, we went to Spain for a training camp and we got to practise with a lot of quality wrestlers. I believe for better performance, we need more foreign exposure where we compete with the top wrestlers from other countries," Sakshi, who along with her fiance Satyavart Kadianis teamed up in the Delhi Sultans franchise in the Pro-Wrestling League (PWL), told PTI.

While preparing for the upcoming PWL, Sakshi is also keeping an eye on the 2018 Commonwealth in Gold Coast and Asian Games in Jakarta.

Sakshi further added, “Commonwealth Games and Asian Games are obviously my main target. I have started training two months back and it’s been good so far. I don’t intend to change my weight category (58 kg).”

Also Read: Sakshi Malik becomes ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ ambassador

Sakshi was accompanied by teammates Bajrang, Praveen Rana and Satyawart Kadian (her fiancé) at the logo launch of the Delhi Sultans.

Meanwhile, with such bio-pics as ‘Dangal’ coming out that are based on real life sport heroes, she is very hopeful. “Sultan released earlier and now Dangal released. It’s good that two films have been made on wrestling. If someone wants to make a bio-pic on my life, I won’t mind but I have no actress in mind who can portray my role. That’s not my job,” she said.

You May Also Like: I was about to faint the day she won the bronze, Sakshi Malik’s mother gets candid

Earlier this year, we caught Sakshi Malik at SheThePeople organised Young Makers’ Conclave where she talked about women's condition in the Indian sporting infrastructure.

Joining her, boxer Mary Kom said her own academy in Manipur was set up before Kom was made a Rajya Sabha MP. However, she felt facilities needed to improve a lot and access to quality sporting facilities were entirely missing in India.

#YoungMakers #SakshiMallik pic.twitter.com/uqbZdrADzK

— Meghna Ghai Puri (@meghnaghaipuri) September 21, 2016

“I request the government to provide good infrastructure to the women in rural areas who aspire to be in sports,” said Sakshi Malik. While Mary Kom added, “I will appeal to our government to provide us with good coaches, besides quality infrastructure.”

It was very difficult for Sakshi to reach the Olympics. She grew up in Rohtak, Haryana, and people there are not supportive of women in sports like wrestling.

Super conversations with @SakshiMalik @MangteC laughter, sport, fun, medals, realities #YoungMakers pic.twitter.com/HNi9svobuT

— SheThePeople (@SheThePeople) September 21, 2016

Her family support though made up for those odds.

Also read: Are women rewriting India’s sports history?

READ: Don’t let the bronze change the colour of your heart: Mary Kom to Sakshi Malik

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